Update on Wireless in Canada

It’s no secret that Canadians have been at the mercy of the “big three” cellphone carriers in Canada with little to no competition for far too long. 

So, how are we doing now that we have at least one new choice?

The honest truth about consumer choice in Canadian cellular is that for a long time we have had none.  Sure, there has been three carriers but if they haven’t been secretly meeting in dark alleys to discuss rates they at least have not been competitive.  The result is that pricing for voice and data has been extremely high in Canada until recently.  So, what changed?  New blood!

The latest carrier to enter the scene in Canada is WIND Mobile and they bring with them a refreshing focus on consumers.  While their plans are not earth shattering they at least represent a decent option for some.  I’ll get back to WIND in just a bit.

Our big three – or rather, ‘big two’ since Bell and TELUS are conjoined twins – milked consumers to the point of breaking but with no choice, what could we do?  The government dragged their feet for a long time but FINALLY offered cellular spectrum in an auction open to everyone but Rogers and Bellus.  These companies finally saw that some form of competition was coming and I think that is when they decided to become more competitive; well, at least Bellus did.  Roger’s plans have changed very little, probably because they are still on a high from being the exclusive carrier of the iPhone.  But of course, that is no longer true either, so hopefully we will see changes from Rogers.

I personally use Bell and am happy with the rates they have for data.  I still pay far too much overall for my cellphone but they have improved.  Of course, they still are not connecting with their customers in any measurable way.  While Rogers has made strides on Social Networking sites like twitter there is nothing from Bell that I have seen and little from Telus.  I’m pretty sure Bell executives are still scratching their blue hair over that new fangled site “MySpace”. [to any Bell executive reading this I apologize.  You hair is actually a very nice shade of blue, I meant the guy in the office two down from you.]

WIND Mobile does represent the kind of company we have been waiting for in Canada but how are they doing so far?  Apparently they signed up 10,000 subscribers in their first month.  Uhhhh…

Ok, maybe some would think that is good considering they are new, they have limited coverage, they spend all day playing with Microsoft Surface, but the point is they need to do MUCH better.  They are currently looking to raise money to roll out in other cities, but return on that money would have to be extremely speculative at this point.  Lets hope they are able to get on Dragon’s Den and win over at least a couple Dragons.

Things are looking a bit better for Canadians but we have a long way to go.  Let’s try to support new carriers as much as possible, or at least the carriers that are trying to change for the better.

Rogers Gets its Hand Slapped

In a mirror image of what is happening in the US, Rogers has been told to stop making claims of being the “most reliable’ network in Canada. Rogers has been making this claim for a long time now but Telus has finally taken them to task on these claims.

What I’m really surprised at is Telus’ slightly between-the-lines assertion that this has actually been true until November 6th when they rolled out their HSPA network. If you think about that, this claim isn’t actually saying that Rogers’ network is inferior now but that there is simply no basis, or no third-party data to assert this claim. In other words, it’s actually possible that Rogers’ network is the more reliable but they need the backing of a third party in making this claim.

The flip side of this could very well be that Telus and Bell may actually have the more reliable network but they too would have to have confirmation to make that claim. At this point they don’t seem to be making trying to lay claim to these bragging rights, they simply want Rogers to stop their advertising campaign.

I’m personally a Bell user and find their network to be as close to rock solid as wireless can be. Their HSPA network actually gave me better signal strength than their own CDMA network.

A Couple New Toys for Me

Recently I was able to get together with our Editor in Chief, Mike Temporale for a quick bite and snag a couple of great phones to play around with; the Samsung Omnia and HTC S740 (THANKS MIKE!!).

The Omnia is a slate-style Windows Mobile Professional device running on the Bell Mobility network. I already have a Bell account, so I just switched over to this phone. Using it as my main phone and loving it. The screen is a good size and it is quite lightweight.

It does take a bit of time to get used to a new phone, so I will be sharing some thoughts.

Since the Omnia is still available from Bell I will be posting about some of the apps I have put on it and how I have customized it for my liking. It may not be the latest Windows Phone but it is a great smartphone that is a little less expensive.

The HTC S740 is a Windows Mobile Standard device that is unlocked for use on Rogers. Since I don’t have a Rogers account I am simply using WiFi with this one. Its a great little smartphone with a very nice sliding keyboard. I gotta say, this is one well made piece of hardware.

This one is just going to be for playing around. I actually have always used the Professional version of Windows Mobile and wanted to see what the Standard version was like.

More to come.

Forget about Telus, but not Bell

Lately it seems all we talk about is Rogers and the coming wireless competition in Canada but what are Telus and Bell up to these days?

Of course, Telus has the wonderful HTC Touch Pro2 and the HTC Snap coming soon but their mobile data plans are just as horrible as ever! Here is a taste of just how bad:

Ok, so that’s $60 for 3gig? BTW, if you happen to go over your plan by a gig…$50 more. Telus…ummm…wake up??

[ ..Read More.. ]

Rogers is First with HSPA+ in North America

Today, Rogers has officially launched its HSPA+ network and is able to claim the bragging rights of being the first in North America.

“Rogers Wireless today announced it has begun the Canada-wide deployment of a 21 Megabits per second (Mbps) high-speed HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access Plus) wireless network, following the successful expansion and doubling of speed of its high-speed network to 7.2 Mbps last year. Starting in August, Rogers will progressively increase wireless network download speeds up to 21 Mbps in the Greater Toronto Area, and expand quickly over the coming months to other cities across the country.”

While this is wonderful news for Rogers, as far as marketing is concerned, I have to wonder how much it is needed by consumers. Of course, we ALL want faster everything, including faster wireless internet access but I gotta think that more customers would be pumped about properly priced data rather than fastest in North America. This “successful launch” comes at a cost and on the backs of customers that have no choices in Canada.

Here’s an idea; offer plain old 3G at reasonable rates and charge a premium for HSPA+.

Still, if you are one of those with either Rogers shares or money trees this is certainly good news for you. Like I said, we all want faster wireless.

The War for Canada’s Wireless Customers

When it comes to a competitive marketplace for wireless in Canada, there has been a serious void for many years. Bell, Telus, and Rogers have managed to keep prices high, contracts long, and light on choice. It got so bad that Canada decided to restrict the big 3 from bidding on the new spectrum that was auctioned off last year. It was made available to new companies that are looking to setup camp here in Canada.

Sadly, winning that auction doesn’t mean you’re going to be greeted with open arms. Telus (along with Bell and Rogers) are now taking action to slow the introduction of another wireless carrier. Its to the point now that they are accusing Globalive of cheating the Canadian ownership requirements.

This article, over on the National Post, outlines what Canadians have had to deal with for far too long – high prices for little services. I’m less than thrilled to read that wireless penetration has actually dropped in recent years. Then again, how surprised can one be when carriers are offering 3 year contracts and still charging top dollar for their devices. To be fair, once the wireless auction was completed last year, the big 3 did start to improve their prices and customer support. Has true competition scared them into changing or would these changes have happened regardless? Either way, it’s going to be interesting to watch things play out over the next 6 months.

Rogers Introduces Canada’s First 3.5G Embedded Netbooks

Rogers has just announced their HP Mini netbook offering with embedded 3.5 wireless:

“The HP Mini 110 netbooks now available include embedded mobile broadband technology to connect to the Web over Rogers 3.5G wireless network across Canada – three times faster than any other – offering customers the freedom to choose when and where they enjoy a true broadband Internet experience. With download speeds up to 7.2 Mbps, Rogers mobile Internet ready netbooks deliver the ultimate convenience and productivity for work or play online with just a few clicks – no need to search for WiFi or wired access.”

Now, if they would only listen to users about the sky high cost of wireless…

Rogers’ iPhone Upgrades for Customers

I just received this email from Rogers about the details on their upgrade program for existing iPhone owners. If you have questions please comment at the bottom and we will ask our contacts at Rogers.

“Hello Darren,
We’ve just announced the details of special Hardware Upgrade savings for our existing iPhone customers and wanted to let you know.

There has been a lot of excitement around the new iPhone 3G S and we wanted to recognize the early adopters who helped make the iPhone the hottest-selling handset in Canadian wireless history. We will be discounting the price of the iPhone 3G S by between $250 and $500 to provide savings to many of our iPhone customers.

What this means is that eligible iPhone owners can acquire the iPhone 16GB 3G S for as low as $199 or the 32GB for as low as $299 until July 31, 2009.

For Fido customers, we’re offering the Fido Rewards iPhone 3G S promotion. This enables iPhone customers to redeem FidoDollars towards a new iPhone 3G S with an additional $100 top-up from Fido.
For customers who don’t qualify for these extra savings, we are pleased to offer Rogers Wireless customers the iPhone at our cost on rogers.com. This cost – $580 for the iPhone 3G, $680 for the iPhone 3G S 16GB and $780 for the iPhone 3G S 32GB – represents the price we pay for the device plus a nominal fee for the SIM card. Customers can access these devices at retail locations for just $19 more for the three devices.

We’re also happy to announce that Rogers and Fido are extending the 6GB/$30 data promotion until July 31. This offer is valid for customers on a new or existing iPhone plan or customers buying an Android-powered HTC Magic or HTC Dream.

Five ways to save

1) For Rogers Wireless customers who bought an iPhone 3G between July 11 and Sept. 30, 2008, and with an average monthly spend of at least $100, Rogers will provide $500 off the cost of an iPhone 3G S. This special offer expires July 31, 2009 and comes with the addition of a one-year term to the customer’s existing service agreement.
· 16GB 3GS $199
· 32GB 3GS $299

2) For Rogers Wireless customers who bought an iPhone between July 11 and Dec. 31, 2008, but aren’t eligible for the above offer, Rogers will provide $250 dollars off the purchase of an iPhone 3G S. This special offer expires July 31, 2009 and comes with the addition of a one-year term to the customer’s existing service agreement.
· 16GB 3GS $449
· 32GB 3GS $549

3) All Rogers Wireless customers can upgrade to the iPhone 3GS at our cost at Rogers.com, or for a suggested retail price of just $19 more than our cost through our retail channels.
· 8GB 3G $580/$599
· 16GB 3GS $680/$699
· 32GB 3GS $780/$799

4) Fido customers can take advantage of the Fido Rewards iPhone 3G S promotion:
· Use FidoDollars towards the purchase of a new iPhone 3G S
· Fido will top up the FidoDollars amount by $100
· This promotion does not include an extension or renewal of their service agreement.

5) New and existing iPhone customers can take advantage of a limited-time promotion of 6GB of data for $30, now extended until July 31. Other Rogers and Fido data plans will remain the same, including the only national standalone data plan at $25 per month for 500 MB. We know that this is the right plan for most Canadians – 93 per cent of current iPhone customers on a data plan use less than 500 MB of data per month.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.